Ashéninka language

Ashéninka (Ashéninca, Ashéninga) is the name that some varieties included in the Ashéninka-Asháninka dialect complex have traditionally received. These varieties belong to the Campan branch of the Arawak family. Ethnologue distinguishes seven languages throughout the whole complex, while Pedrós proposes a division in three languages (Ashéninka, Asháninka and Northern Ashé-Ashá) based on the principle of mutual intelligibility. The varieties included in Ashéninka and Northern Ashé-Ashá have traditionally been called Ashéninka. Glottolog reflects Pedrós’ proposal, although considering the languages proposed by him as groupings of the languages that the Ethnologue distinguishes.

According to the indigenous peoples database of the Peruvian Ministry of Education, there are 15,281 people living in Ashéninka communities, of whom 8,774 (57%) claim to be able to speak the language. Ethnologue gives much higher figures for the different Ashéninka varieties.

The classification of the different varieties was first established by David Payne in his Apurucayali Axininca grammar, but he referred to them as dialects and not as different languages.^: 3–5

Ashéninka is a locally official language in Peru, as are all native Peruvian languages. It and its relatives are also known by the allegedly pejorative term Campa.